Who's to Blame/Ending Occulmency was Re: [HPforGrownups] Harry as Kreacher

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 100563

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Arya" 
<dequardo at w...> wrote:
> Oryomai:
> On the subject of ending Occulmency lessons, what was 
Severus supposed to do?   Continue to try to teach Harry with 
Harry dragging his feet?  Alla said "stakes were too  high, and he 
knew it".  Couldn't that mean Harry, too?  Harry knew how 
important him learning Occulmency was, yet he didn't. 
(SNIPPAGE)
> ------------------
> 
Arya: 
> How do you see Harry *knowing* just how important 
Occlumency was?  I see the lack  of providing sufficient 
explanation and motive to learn as one of Snape's major  
failings.  <

Pippin, quoting OOP
===
"The important point is that the Dark Lord is now aware that you 
are gaining access to his thoughts and feelings. He has also 
deduced that the process is likely to work in reverse; that is to 
say, he has realized that he might be able to access your 
thoughts and feelings in return--"

"And he might try and make me do things?" asked Harry. "*Sir?*" 
he added hurriedly.

"He might," said Snape, sounding cold and unconcerned.
====
OOP ch 24.

Harry is told, plainly, why it is important for him to learn 
Occlumency. When he is questioned afterwards as to whether 
he understands why it is important for him to learn Occlumency, 
he says he does. He lies to Snape *and* Hermione about 
practicing and wanting to learn it. I don't know about the rest of 
you, but one of the hardest things for me  to deal with as a parent 
and a manager in RL is this kind of passive aggressive stuff. 
How are you supposed to  motivate someone who claims that 
they *are* motivated and doing the best they can?  What was 
Snape supposed to do--use the Quill?

As for telling Harry how to do it, Snape tells him that it is similar 
to resisting the Imperius curse. As far as we know, unlike the 
Patronus spell,  there is no mental exercise that will help you  to 
resist Imperius. Here's how Harry resisted Imperius in GoF:

"Another voice had awoken in the back of his brain. Stupid thing 
to do, really, said the voice" --GoF ch14.

Compare that to Harry's first successful attempt to repel Snape.

"*No,* said a voice in Harry's head, as the memory of Cho drew 
nearer, *you're not watching that, you're not watching it, it's 
private--"
--OOP ch 24

It's all a question of listening for that little voice, and it's not
until Harry does that, in the Ministry of Magic when his heart 
speaks of seeing Sirius again, that Harry succeeds in driving 
Voldemort out.

Granted that Dumbledore was wrong, and Harry should have 
been told more, but that would have entailed recognizing Harry 
as an adult, wouldn't it? 

Pippin